After Effects
by LaineLove
Summary: The Battle is over, the light side has won. But at what cost? Can things really stay the same after the last few years? A look into the minds of 2 best friends, a set of twins, and a spy as they struggle with the consequences of the last few years. Fred/OC, Draco/OC


**A few minutes before the Final Battle.**

A young girl with short brown and pink hair, black glasses obscuring brown eyes, and a Hufflepuff Hogwarts uniform was running through the corridors trying to find those she was closest to, to try to get a glimpse of the man she loves, find her best friend and get her younger sister to safety. She refuses to yell out for them, her wand out and ready to cast a spell at a moment's notice. Just because the battle had yet to officially start does not mean that she could let her guard down, one never knows what will happen. Going around a corner she spotted two of her favorite people, two former Gryffindors who left school early their 7th year, her 5th year. She barreled straight into the slightly taller ones back, her arms going around his waist.

"Fred! George! Thank Morgana you're alright." He stumbled and the Weasley twins turned, their own wands outstretched, and realized just who was hugging Fred. Fred gathered her in his arms and lifted her up off the floor spinning them around laughing in relief.

"Dammit Babs. Don't scare me like that." Fred spoke into her hair before letting her down. As soon as she was on the ground George hugged her breathing a sigh of relief that she was safe. "Good to see you Barb." Both men were a foot taller than her so she had to look up to see their faces and catalog their features, both identical and different. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary she gave them a big smile before she grabbed Fred's face and pulled him down to her level to kiss him. She felt tears in her eyes, knowing that they were going to have to go their separate ways to make a difference in this war.

"Shit Babs, what the hell happened to you? Why didn't you tell me about these?" Fred asked running gentle fingers over bruises on her face and words carved into her hand.

"Because you would have gotten me out. Because you would have stormed the castle and gotten yourself killed. Because I had to stay and protect those who couldn't protect themselves. For Arielle, for Kat and for others. We all have our stories to tell. I'll tell you everything tomorrow yeah?" She gave him a small and hopeful smile with tears in her eyes.

"I have to go. I have to find Arielle and Kat. I need to make sure my sister gets out of here safe." She turned to go but a hand on her wrist stopped her. She looked back to see Fred on one knee and a hand coming out of his pocket. "Fred?"

"Shut up and stand still Barb. He's been trying to get the courage to do this for weeks." George silenced her with a grin.

"Barbara Skye Carter. We met your first year, on the train to Hogwarts. You were adorable and spunky and unafraid of the tarantula in our cabin. Years later you told me that was untrue and all sorts of things that don't matter right now, anyway," All three of them chuckled as Fred went off tangent. "We became friends that day. You went off into Hufflepuff but still remained friends with the Gryffindor pranksters. You made me want to become a better friend, a better person, a better prankster. When we got together in your fifth year, it was the best few months of my life here at Hogwarts. I was so sure that I was going to ruin it by leaving Hogwarts, by leaving you, but you proved me wrong." He looked into her eyes and she swore she could see into his heart, she only hoped she measured up to what he saw in her.

"You were the only one to firmly support WWW, to support George, to support me. To leave you in this place, a place that was supposed to be safe but became a place of torture was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I knew you would be okay, you always are but I also knew that you would do everything in your power to protect others. Risking yourself in the process." He ran his thumb over the newest scars on her hand.

"I never want to leave you again. Babs, will you marry me?" In his hands Fred had a small black band that had a dark purple batman symbol etched into it. Tears freely flowing down her face she beamed at him and nodded, too choked up for words. He put the ring on her finger and all three started yelling and laughing, taking in this small moment to just enjoy life. They kissed, it was a kiss of passion and hope and a future.

The earth shook as multi-colored light and screams filled the sky. Pulling away the three looked at each other. Fred and Barbara's next kiss was one of goodbye tinged with hope. "If you die I will resurrect you only to kill you myself. And it will be so much more painful and slow than any of these idiots could ever manage. Understand me? Both of you." She looked at each trying to burn their faces in her memory. They nodded, knowing that speaking would be unnecessary in this moment. "Go."

They ran. The twins in one direction and Barbara in another. She tried to stop the tears and to focus her mind on her sister and only her sister. She had to trust in the twins, to believe that they would be okay for her to do her job. She had to get Arielle out and she had to find Kat so they could make sure that those that were hurt were taken care of.

She trained for one purpose and one purpose only, to make sure as many people, as many children survived as possible. Her eyes filled with determination and she kept her wand at the ready, glancing at the ring on her finger with a small smile. She just had to get herself and those around her through the next few hours and all would be well.

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 _Hi guys, I have so many ideas for this story and I hope that you enjoy it. It will end up being mainly about Fred/OC, Draco/OC, and George, dunno who he's gonna be with at this time. I'm not actually going to write about the battle, mainly because I don't know how to write big scenes like that and partly because I don't really see much need as we already know the important parts. I may do a little summery to explain what Barbara does during the Battle as well as a few other things in the next after chapter party, we'll see._


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